


Letters For a Puppy

by followmetoyourdoom



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, except that it's gonna get silly bc Adrien is a cat and this fic is about dogs, idk what to tag this as seeing as it's only the first chapter, make of that what you will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-04 06:20:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5323790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/followmetoyourdoom/pseuds/followmetoyourdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette takes in a lost (abandoned??) puppy, once again missing school. Trying to find the puppy's home leads to a string of unfortunate events, especially where Adrien Agreste is concerned, and to the Akuma - a postman? Yep. Endless puns await, you'd be barking mad not to enjoy them (I'm sorry). </p><p>There's also a sub-plot about Marinette finding out Adrien has a crush on her, but the wrong her - on Ladybug - and I will probably throw some Ladrien in bc I am Ladrien trash and I haven't see a lot of it around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mindless Doodles & An Energetic Fluff-Ball

Alya sighs as she checks her phone for the umpteenth time. Marinette still hasn't returned any of her calls. If she doesn't hurry up, she's going to be late to class. Again.

She tries Marinette's number one last time before giving up and going into school.

Nino greets her as she slides into her seat behind him. He too is sat on his own. Alya looks pointedly at Adrien's empty seat to which Nino responds to by striking a terrible imitation of his best friend's most well-known pose.

"His dad always puts Adrien's modelling career over school," he clarifies, as if there could be any doubt as to what he'd meant. "He'll be back after lunch. And Marinette?"

Alya can only shrug, she has no idea where her best friend is. Marinette had texted her first thing in the morning, as she always did, and then hadn't replied since. Alya begins explaining this to Nino, but alas the teacher walks in, causing any morning chit-chat in the class to dwindle.

As the day drags on, Alya stares at the back of Nino's head, not really paying attention to what the teacher is saying. She holds her phone in her hand under the table, waiting for the tell-tale text message alert vibration.

But no message arrives, and soon it's time to go home for lunch.

Nino and Alya say their good-byes, with the latter making the decision to call at Marinette's house to find out what on earth has stopped her from getting to school this morning.

Alya isn't stupid. She knows not to drop Marinette in at the deep end with her parents, and so, instead of entering through the bakery, she opts for the side entrance.

She stops in front of Marinette's apartment and taps lightly on the door. This elicits a small bark from within and Alya, being the curious - read, nosey - girl that she is, opens said door and pops her head in. There's a flurry of sound as a small fluffy creature tumbles down the stairs followed by a frantic Marinette.

"Marine-?"

"Shut the door! Shut the door!" Marinette cries as the fluff ball darts for the exit.

Alya pulls her head - and the door - back in alarm. There's a muted thud, a sound of claws scratching on wood; and then a click as the door opens.

The fluff ball is now squirming in Marinette's arms as she struggles to hold open the door with the tip of her foot and keep the small animal - a puppy, Alya realises - under control. She makes a 'come in' gesture with her head, prompting Alya to duck inside, closing the door behind her.

"Marinette," Alya begins again, "What on earth?"

"I found him on the way to school." Reasserting her grip on the puppy every few seconds, Marinette starts walking back towards the stairs. "I couldn't just leave him!"

Alya smiles fondly and shakes her head, "So that's why you didn't turn up this morning."

"Yeah... " Marinette switches to holding the now slightly more relaxed puppy with one hand so she can stroke its ears with the other. "He's just so cute, and when I found him he was in such a state that I… well, I couldn't help taking him home. I even called in at a pet shop and got some things."

"Whose do you think he is?" Alya asks as she follows her best friend through the trapdoor that leads to her room.

Marinette shrugs and waits for Alya to close the hatch before setting the puppy down on the floor. "He was all dirty when I found him. Thank goodness he's tiny and I could wash him in my sink," she motions towards it. "But anyway, what did I miss at school?"

The two girls settle down on Marinette's chaise lounge while Alya recounts her school day - including Adrien's absence.

After a while they lapse into silence, entranced by the puppy as it wanders around Marinette's room sniffing everything and making little pitter patter noises with its tiny feet.  The puppy is mostly white with various dark brown patches, including one across each overly large ear, and on the tip of its slightly curled tailed. It's a Papillon.

An angry buzzing from Alya's phone tells her it's almost time to go back to school. She stands up and motions for Marinette to do the same.

"I can't leave him," Marinette murmurs, still watching the puppy. "What if my parents find him?"

"Just bring him with you! He'll fit in your backpack."

Marinette bites her lip, "Yeah, but it's not fair to the puppy." Said puppy had just trotted up to her, whining and pawing at her leg. Marinette picks him up and he quickly settles himself on her lap. "Also I was going to make some 'Found' posters and post them around the neighbourhood to find his owner."

Alya waves her off, "We can do that later, c'mon! Nino said Adrien would be back after lunch…" She leaves her statement hanging as she exits her best friend's room, smirking just a little bit - she knows Marinette won't be able to resist a chance to see Adrien, even if it is just at school.

She counts down from three in her head, and sure enough on 'one', Marinette cries out, "Hold up!" Alya smiles smugly as she waits for her best friend to collect her school things.

Unknown to Alya, Marinette is also in the middle of a quiet discussion with Tikki.

"...don't know if I should."

"You  _do_  need to go to school, Marinette. And I'm sure he'll be fine for a few hours, you can let him out at récré. After all, I spend quite a while in your shoulder bag." Tikki teases.

"Yeah I guess so," Marinette pads out her bag with a small blanket before carefully placing the tiny puppy on top. "Sorry little guy, I'll leave the bag open a bit, don't worry."

The puppy simply licks Marinette in reply, to which the young teen coos.

"Marinette!" Alya calls from below, causing Tikki to dive back into Marinette's bag, "Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Marinette wiggles her fingers at the puppy one last time before zipping the backpack up most of the way. Carefully she puts it on her back and gathers her school books from her desk in her arms, not being able to fit them in her bag now the puppy is there.

Conscious of the Papillon, she descends the stairs slowly, not wanting to jostle him.

"Want me to carry some of those books for you?" Alya offers.

"I think I can manage, thanks."

Alya shrugs, "It'd mean you could let the puppy out round the back of the school, we should have time."

"True… true…" she considers before nodding and passing a few books over to Alya. The less time the puppy spent in her bag, the better.

Minutes later Marinette kisses her mother good-bye while Alya waves from the bakery's front door, oodles of baked goods for her to eat on the short journey back to school now added to the pile of books she carries. Sabine had insisted on the free goodies when Alya had told her that the two of them had been working on a project in Marinette's room for the entirety of their lunch break.

Hiding out behind the school, the end of lunch break still a way off, Marinette stops and takes the puppy out of her bag, clipping on the lead she bought earlier that day.

With any other tiny dog, holding onto its lead with one hand would be a piece of cake; however this dog seems to have the energy of a cheetah and the strength of a lion as it pulls and pulls at its leash, endeavouring to sniff everything it possibly can.

As the bell rings, Marinette transfers the puppy, after much calming down, back into her backpack and takes the rest of her books off Alya.

"You know what we should do?" Alya asks as they walk back round to the front of the school, dumping the now empty paper bakery bag in a nearby bin.

"What?"

"Ask Adrien and Nino to help find the puppy's owner."

Marinette stops dead, "I couldn't do that!" She squawks, almost dropping her books.

"Okay, I will." Alya says matter of factly.

A groan escapes Marinette's lips, but her smile is a genuine one as she leans her head against Alya's shoulder for a few seconds. "Thanks. I don't know how you find the confidence to do things like that."

Alya laughs, "I haven't done it yet, silly. But thinking about Ladybug helps."

"It does?"

"Sure, I mean she's always so confident and self-assured. She's a great role model."

"Huh, I guess so."

The two girls reach their class and Marinette begins sorting her books out in an orderly manner on the desk. She then carefully places her bag on her knee and opens it slightly to reassure the puppy, but finds him asleep - obviously tired after the spurt of exercise he'd had.

Happy that the puppy has settled down, Marinette eases him under her chair, hiding him from sight.

Other classmates begin filing into the room in pairs or groups, including Adrien and Nino who wave at Marinette and Alya as they take their seats.

A general hubbub of conversation spreads throughout the room as friends - despite having talked but two hours ago - catch up.

Marinette's eyes drift towards Adrien as he pulls out his books from his bag. One in particular catches her eye, mainly because she knows that she should have seen her own copy recently. A quick glance at her pile of books reveals why she hasn't.

"Oh no!" Marinette whispers, "I must have- I don't believ-"

"What's wrong, girl?"

Marinette points to her books she'd assembled moments ago on her desk. The book for the class that's about to start - Geography - is missing.

Alya simply shakes her head, "You brought every book except the one for the class we have now?"

"You know what I'm like." Marinette hides her face in her hands. "I'll just have to share yours," she mumbles through them.

"Sure." Alya begins to reach for her bag when, out of the corner of her eye, she notices Adrien doodling something in his Geography book. Something that, from what little she sees, looks an awful lot like Marinette.

Thinking quickly, Alya pretends to search around in her bag for a bit before looking back up at her best friend in horror.

"You're not gonna believe this, but I've left mine too."

"What?" Marinette's head shoots up, "Aw, that's just my luck." She buries her head again and so misses Alya's darting smile.

She nudges Marinette until she looks up and lowers her voice, "Why not ask Adrien for his? We can share that one between us, and he can share with Nino."

"That's a great idea! Except... How do I ask him?"

Alya shakes her head and, quick as a flash, taps Adrien on the shoulder furthest away from her. Marinette squeaks in protest, but it's too late.

Adrien turns round, looking at her expectantly. "I uh…" Marinette begins, glancing over at Alya who gives her a fleeting wink, "wanted to know if we could textbook your borrow, I mean, know your textbook, I mean…" She sighs and recomposes herself.

She can do this.

"Canweborrowyourtextbookplease," she says hurriedly.

Adrien starts for a second before grinning, "You want to borrow my Geography book?"

Marinette nods furiously and then stops abruptly when she realises how absurd she must seem to him.

Taking her out of her misery, Alya decides to step in. "We both forgot our books," she shrugs like she can't quite believe what happened. Marinette hurriedly imitates the motion when Adrien's eyes fall back to her.

"Oh, in that case, of course you can borrow it," Adrien says, passing his book back. "I'm sure Nino will let me share his, right?"

"You know it, Adrien." Nino pipes up, almost too quickly. He too had noticed both Adrien's drawings and Alya's book that she hasn't quite hidden from sight under the desk.

The two share a look; and it's a look that projects both disbelief that their respective best friends aren't dating each other yet, and a wistful hope that they will begin to soon. It's a look that they've shared many a time before.

Marinette takes the book off Adrien as he holds it out to her. "Thank you," she manages to get out. Adrien smiles at her and winks before turning back round.

"Open your books at chapter 7 please," the teacher calls out, having just arrived. "Read the introductory paragraph and then we'll get started."

A still slightly shell-shocked Marinette begins sliding the book towards the centre on the table to share it with Alya, but she pushes it back, "I read it at home." Alya lies, sneaking her phone in front of her pencil case so she can use it. Alya wants to be sure that Marinette's the first to see what she's sure are doodles of her best friend, and if that means sacrificing a bit of tectonic plate knowledge, so be it.

Marinette shrugs and pulls the book closer to her, opening the book at the right page, already firmly marked open by Adrien. But that's not the only marking he's done - loads of doodles decorate the margins. Some are tiny, no bigger than the font of the book itself, and others take up the entire border. But there's one thing they all have in common:

They're all of Ladybug.

They're all Adrien's drawings of Ladybug.

Marinette blushes and turns the page, and yet more of her likeness greets her. Every Ladybug has a different expression - in some she looks fierce, in some she looks friendly, and in others she looks like the very sun is contained within her. Most of these are cheesily accompanied by love hearts.

Her blush deepens and she tries to distract herself by glancing back up at the teacher, but this only brings Alya's attention to Marinette's very pink cheeks.

"Marinette, what hap-?" A quick peek at the textbook tells her all she needs to know. Or at least, all she thinks she needs to know. "Oh Marinette, I'm sorry I thought he was doodling pictures of you, that's why I suggested borrowing his-"

"Wait what?" Confusion wipes the blush from her face, but another glance at Adrien's book brings it back stronger than ever.

Alya takes hold of her best friend's hands and pats them comfortingly. "I saw him drawing when I was trying to find my book and it looked like he was drawing pictures of you," she looks at the textbook again, tapping one of the love hearts, "I know this must be really embarrassing for you."

"I- uh, pff embarrassing? Why would I be e-embarrassed?"  _This is it,_  Marinette thinks,  _Alya's finally discovered my secret identity. I'm doomed, I'll have to go into hiding, which means I'll never get to be a fashion designer and I'll never be able to ask Adrien out on a date - not that I can do that anyway - and-_

"Well, because he's obviously got a huge crush on Ladybug." Alya says in a sensible manner, halting Marinette's train of thought, "Though who can blame him, she's awesome. And here's me thinking he'd finally noticed you."

Marinette tries to look disappointed, "Oh, right, yeah… Well, he notices my mistakes."  _And my superhero persona_ , though she doesn't say this out loud. Suddenly, looking disappointed isn't that hard anymore.

Alya gives her arm a quick squeeze, "Aw, Marinette, that's not all he notices; and you know it." She smiles at her best friend before going back to her phone, giving Marinette time to actually read the paragraph she was meant to.

Twenty minutes in, with Alya finally paying attention to the teacher, it's Marinette who finds her concentration slipping. Absent-mindedly she doodles alongside Adrien's Ladybugs. She draws what's missing; because there's so many Ladybugs and yet not a single Chat Noir.

And every Ladybug needs her kitty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the puppy is a Papillon xD I couldn't resist (btw go look them up they're super cute), and the irony isn't lost on Marinette, but you won't see that till next chapter (;


	2. A Furiously Bouncing Bag & Exploding Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien meets the puppy, but things go amiss, especially when Marinette's bag - with the puppy inside - goes missing during class.

As the bell rings for afternoon récré, students pour out of their classrooms and into the school grounds. Marinette and Alya forgo their usual bench in exchange for a more secluded corner where the puppy will be able to roam freely.

Using her body as a shield, Marinette lets the puppy out her bag, melting instantly when it yawns. It wanders around for a bit, not that interested in what the school has to offer, before trotting back to Marinette and pawing at her leg.

"He needs a name," Alya says thoughtfully as Marinette picks him up, "He's a papillon, right? We could call him that, Papillon."

Marinette screams internally. _No_. She will not let this adorable creature be linked with _him_ nor his butterflies.

She cannot however tell Alya this, so instead cuddles the puppy close and says, "That's lazy naming. We can think of something more creative than that."

"How is that lazy?" Alya insists, "It suits him perfectly." Out of the corner of her eye she spots Nino tapping away at his phone, "Hey Nino!"

He looks up, "What?"

Alya gestures to him, "Need your opinion on something."

Nino sighs and glances back at his phone, but then locks it and puts in his pocket as he stands up. "What's the problem?" He asks when he reaches the girls.

"We need a name for this puppy," Alya points at the puppy in question. "I suggested Papillon, because that's what he is, but Marinette doesn't th-"

She interrupts herself as she sees Nino slowly backing away, eyeing the puppy in Marinette's arms nervously. "Uh, I actually don't like dogs that much…"

Alya puts her hands on her hips. "Since when?"

"Since now. I don't mind big ones too much, but little ones…" Another glance towards the puppy, its tongue now sticking out and its ears pricking up. "They can run around your ankles and bite you and-"

"He's not gonna bite you, Nino!"

"It's okay Alya," Marinette says gently, "He doesn't have to help if he doesn't want to."

Alya gasps as she remembers, "Oh yeah! We also need to find out who's he is," she looks at Nino who clearly looks very uncomfortable being so close to the dog, "but like Marinette said, if you don't want to help, that's fine."

"N-no, I want to. It's what a good friend would do," he shrugs and takes a deep breathe, "I just… I'll try." Tentatively, Nino walks up to Marinette and touches the puppy's head briefly. When nothing happens, he tries scratching it on its head and receives a lick in return. "Ah!"

Alya shakes her head, giggling slightly. "He just licked you, Nino."

"That means he likes you," Marinette says with a grin.

Nino smiles back hesitantly, "Really?" He contemplates the puppy for a few seconds. "Okay, I'll help, but I'm still not entirely sure about the puppy." Nino thinks for a moment before clicking his fingers, "Hey! You know who'd love to help? Adrien!"

"Oh really?" Alya smirks in a told-you-so way at Marinette who blushed.

"Yeah! Adrien adores dogs, I'll go get him. He said something about calling at his locker to pick something up."

In the school's locker room, Adrien is indeed picking something up. It's a moldy piece of camembert from the bottom of his locker.

"Plagg!"

"What?" The kwami asks innocently.

Adrien exhales angrily, "How many times do I have to tell you to not _hoard_ cheese around. When you need some cheese, I'll get you some."

Plagg flies up to the piece of cheese Adrien holds at arm's length, "But the longer you leave it the better it tastes!"

Realising too late what Plagg intends to do, Adrien only has time to utter, "Plagg, don't-" before the kwami steals the cheese and downs it in one, rubbing his stomach appreciatively. "Urgh, you make me sick." Adrien mutters, wiping his fingers off on his jeans.

"That was perfectly good camembert, I wasn't going to let you waste it," Plagg retorts, licking his lips, "Besides, I got rid of it, didn't I?"

Adrien rolls his eyes and motions for the kwami to get back in his bag, which Plagg only does after much grumbling.

Just in time too as Nino chooses that moment to walk through the door with his usual greeting of: "Duuuude!"

"Hey Nino,"

The teen leans against the doorframe, "You got what you needed?"

Adrien readjusts his shoulder bag and heads towards his friend, "Yeah."

"Come with me then, Marinette's found this puppy, and she and Alya need help to find its home or something. I'd help but…"

The blond pats Nino's shoulder comfortingly, "The whole looking after your aunt's tiny little dogs over summer thing, yeah I know, you said."

Nino throws his arm around Adrien's shoulders as the two walk off the find the girls, "Thanks, Bro. You're the best."

"Ditto." Adrien winks at his best friend, returning the half, arm-across-shoulder embrace.

Their affection doesn't last long however. As soon as Adrien catches sight of the puppy in Marinette's arms he lets out a hushed, and slightly high pitched, ‘Aaaw!', bringing both hands up to his face, his eyes wide.

Nino chuckles as Adrien's bag slips down to his elbow but the boy doesn't even seem to notice. He's too entranced by the puppy. Inside the bag, Plagg grumbles as he's tossed about.

Alya sees the guys before Marinette does, and subtly nudges her friend and tilts her head at the lovestruck boy.

For a split second, Marinette wonders if he's looking at her - and a small part of her recognises that adoring look as one slightly similar to the one Chat Noir gives her as Ladybug when he thinks she's not looking - but then the moment is gone; and she smiles at his goofy grin and almost literal heart eyes, even if they're not for her.

Marinette is about to greet Adrien, but feels the small fluff ball in her arms suddenly stiffen up and bristle, hostile eyes staring staring straight at… Adrien?

 _But why would the puppy not like him?_ Marinette thinks. _How could anyone dislike Adrien?_

That's when all hell breaks lose. You wouldn't think such a small dog could incite so much terror in a person. You would be wrong.

The puppy springs free of Marinette's arms and runs straight for Adrien, all while barking and snarling furiously. Nino bolts immediately, already having dealt with one too many tiny vicious dogs thanks his aunt's seven or so snappy yorkshire terriers. The puppy stops just short of Adrien's feet and continues barking, staring at him fiercely.

Marinette yelps and rushes forwards, apologies already falling from her lips. She gathers the growling puppy up in her arms and pulls it away from her crush while Adrien wonders what on earth could have caused the dog to dislike him so much.

He's never had a problem with dogs before and loves interacting with them when he gets the chance, which he rarely does. In fact, now that he thinks about it, the last time must have been before he got his miracu- oh. _That's right, I'm a cat now,_ Adrien thinks, _Well…_

Holding the struggling puppy in her arms, Marinette splutters out, "I'm s-so sorry, Adrien. I don't know why he- what came over him, the puppy, he was fine b-before. With Nino I mean. And Alya, and-"

"It's okay," Adrien is still clearly shocked, but isn't about to hold a grudge against sweet Marinette because the puppy she's found had had a go at him, especially since he knows exactly why.

It saddens him slightly, for it never occurred to him that dogs would be a problem for him upon becoming Chat Noir. And clearly it doesn't matter if he's in costume or not.

The bell ringing gives them a reason to part ways and Adrien waves before jogging off to find Nino.

Marinette stares sadly after him, "I blew it…" she says softly.

"So Papillon doesn't like Adrien, so what?" Alya replies, tickling the now perfectly happy puppy under his chin.

Putting the puppy back in her bag and collecting up her books, Marinette turns to her best friend, "We're not calling him Papillon; and a dog was part of The Plan remember?"

Alya raises her eyebrow, "Oh yeah, ‘The Plan'. You mean the one that never even got past stage one?" She has to laugh at the withering look Marinette throws at her as she stands up, "Look, no big deal, you get a cat instead."

 _Already got one,_ Marinette thinks. Out loud she says, "Nuh-uh, cats are too… annoying." The pair start walking towards their next, and last, class - double physics. "Besides, if he doesn't like dogs then what are the chances that-"

"He does like dogs though," Alya argues, "Nino said as much, in fact he said Adrien _adores_ dogs. Just they don't seem to like him apparently."

"Yeah well that's just as big of a problem."

Alya frowns but nods a second later, patting Marinette's shoulder. "Just concentrate on asking him out for now."

"Asking who out?" asks a voice behind them, clearly Nino's. But when the girls turn around it's not just Nino that's standing there. Next to him is Adrien, a half-curious look on his face as he too waits for one of the girls to answer.

"None of your business," Alya replies, hastily shoving Marinette into the classroom and to their desk.

Nino - looking less worse for wear now there's no dog in sight - shrugs and follows them in, as does Adrien. They take their usual seats in front of the girls and Nino begins to turn towards them.

Thinking quickly, the redhead grabs one of her books and props it up, pulling Marinette's face down to join her own behind it. "That was a close one," Alya whispers, "we need to be more conspicuous when we discuss you know what."

"Then why are we whispering behind a chemistry book in physics class?"

Alya pops her head up from the book to see quite a few of her fellow students watching the pair, including Nino.

Adrien is already focused on his textbook, eager to learn more about his favourite subject.

Alya ducks back down and let's out a, "good point," before lowering the book. Ignoring the confused look Nino sends her way, she gets the right one out of her bag and props that one up in front of her to deter the poor boy even more. It's not up to her to tell people about her best friend's crush on Adrien.

Marinette shakes her head fondly and selects her own physics text book from the sizable pile on her desk.

Her stack of books has not gone unnoticed however, "Marinette, put those other books away please," her teacher, Miss Mendeleiev, calls out. "There's no need for them to be cluttering up the desk."

"My uh," Marinette glances at her bag which has most definitely moved from where she'd originally put it, "my bag is full, Madam."

The teacher sighs, exasperated. She's had a tough day at work and so can barely keep the contempt out of her voice as she replies. "Put them on the floor then."

The girl nods and does as Miss Mendeleiev bids, arranging her books in two shorter piles under her desk, wedging her bag between them. She'd like to see that puppy try to move now.

Halfway through the class, Marinette decides to check on the puppy, only to find her bag missing. Frantically she begins looking around for it.

When that fails, she jabs Alya's arm so hard that her hand slips from where it had been acting as a resting place for her chin, and Alya only just catches herself from whacking her face on the desk.  

Angrily she glares at Marinette who signals at her bag, or rather lack of. Alya's eyes widen as she realises and her observant eyes dart around the room in search of it.

"There," she whispers, nodding towards Adrien's chair. Marinette's bag lies underneath it, bouncing up and down. If a bag can possess the ability to bounce viciously, this one certainly is.

"Now what?" Marinette whispers back, her voice more of a nervous hiss. Or all people, why did the puppy have to dislike Adrien? Why not Chloe? She'd happily sic the dog on Chloe, given the right circumstances.

Alya considers the situation, her hand going back to her chin. "Create a distraction," she finally says. "I'll grab the bag."

"Why can't you create the distraction?" Marinette utters indignantly.

She raises an eyebrow, "Because grabbing the bag involves getting rather near to Adrien. In fact, your face would be right next to his-"

"Alright, alright," Marinette says hurriedly shushing her best friend,  "I get it."

Alya laughs, "So, you don't think you could do that without creating _another_ distraction?"

Marinette blushes and grumbles something mostly unintelligible along the lines of ‘stupid hot boy ruining everything'. But she gives Alya a reluctant thumbs up and plans her distraction, though she doesn't have long. Time is of the essence.

A few seconds later she's got it and pokes Alya so she knows. She then stretches and kicks her foot out as hard as she can, aiming for her two piles of books. Her good luck holds out and she manages to send both piles of books flying across the floor like she'd intended.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng!" The teacher shouts, making everyone who hadn't noticed the books explode from under Marinette's desk turn around to look at the poor girl, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Mendeleiev," she stands up, head bowed, and begins moving towards the scattered books. "I'll pick them up."

"I'll help," Alya volunteers, catching on straight away.

Miss Mendeleiev frowns at the pair, "Get on with it then, I have a class to teach." She waves her hand dismissively and carries on teaching.

Bent down on the floor gathering up her books, Marinette doesn't notice Adrien until his face is within inches of hers. "Here," he whispers handing her a book that had fallen next to his chair.

Marinette grins gratefully, unable to say anything while he's so close to her. He returns her smile, albeit a little hesitantly, and then straights up, his attention diverting back to the teacher.

Glancing down at the book she now holds she realises it's the one she borrowed off him earlier that day. "A-adrien?"

"Yes?" he says, looking back down at her.

She shoves the book back into his hand and points to the name on the cover, "It's yours. The book, I mean. It's your one, your book."

"Oh. Thank you."

While Marinette is a stuttering mess trying to express her gratitude to Adrien for letting her borrow his book in the first place, Alya hides behind her and grabs the struggling bag from under Adrien's chair.

Carefully she places it behind her, with the strap trapped under her chair leg. Alya then gathers some books in her arms and returns to her seat, hopefully weighing down the chair enough to stop the puppy from getting away again.

Marinette collects the last few books and stuffs them back under her desk, her endeavours to thank Adrien unsuccessful. _I'll thank him later_ , she tells herself.

Little does she know that 'later' will be a lot sooner than she anticipates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally written the next chapter! Sorry it took so long, hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out a bit quicker :)


End file.
